Eggnog and Peppermints
by Victory Hunter
Summary: The Head Elf at the North Pole, Tsubaki, had fallen for Black*Star, a Human being. She ran the Coffee Shop in Death City. It is forbidden for an Elf and a Human to fall in love with another but an Angel is willing to help him get together with her. What will he do? Soul Eater Genderbent! Soul Eater-Ohkubo {Tsustar}
1. Who is the Angel on the Presents?

It was at the North Pole. It was also December. All the Elves were rushing about, trying to get every last toy done for the kids. The last few decades, Christmas wasn't so good but this year, there were a lot of believers. The Head Elf, was still sorta new at the job, he was standing on a balcony calling out codes.

Almost all the Elves liked or loved him. The Reindeer really love him because he gives them sugarcubes if they behave. His name was Tsubaki. He got down off the balcony to dive into the mess. He would help out with toy making and baking. For once, the Elves had a Head Elf that did not think highly of himself. Everyone didn't feel rushed because they were ahead of schedule. It was amazing. They had to thank Tsubaki for his time management. He had a surprise for them when Santa got back from his rounds on Christmas Eve.

Nutcrackers opened the double doors to the outside for him. He stepped out, greeted by the gently falling snow. He looked to the sky. He clasped his hands together beaming to the sky. The Northern Lights were starting to appear again. He watched the seigh and the reindeer on their test flight for today. _Everything looks fine, _He thought. His eyes shortly widened and he dove into a large pile of snow when the reindeer and sleigh went straight at him. "Whoops! Sorry about that Tsubaki!" The Elf driving the sleigh said as it landed. He hopped out and offered his hand to the Head Elf. "You okay?"

He just sighed. "Watch where you're going, please." he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We don't need anyone getting hurt, especially one of the reindeer. It is too close to Christmas for that."

The Elf chuckled a little nervously, "Y-Yeah.. the last thing we need is a reindeer to get hurt…"

"Anyway," The Head Elf starts. "No more test riding today, got it?"

Sometime later while he was walking around checking on everything, he spotted a little girl sitting on a pile of presents, staring up at the sky. The strangest part about the child, other than he'd never seen her before, was that she had beautiful white wings on her back and a halo floated just above her head. He walked over to her. "Um...hello." he said.

She jumped and looked at him. "O-oh hello." she said, smiling. "Isn't the snow lovely? I never get tired of watching it fall."

"That is absolutely true. You are an Angel, correct?" It was quiet for a few minutes before he would get an answer. She wasn't supposed to be there yet. Not by herself anyway. The Angels were going to come next week, not today. Why was she here though?

She just nodded quietly, watching the snow fall. She shivered a little. "I uh...got lost?" she said lamely, an obvious lie. "What's your name, mister? I'm Artemis, but you can call me Artsi." She looked awfully young to be an Angel. He couldn't help but wonder how she'd died.

"Please, don't lie to me that you got lost. I am the Head Elf Tsubaki. What brings you to the North Pole?"

She bit her lip. "I… sorry… I'm not supposed to tell anyone…" she looked down at her feet. "I'm not really supposed to be here right now… the others aren't here yet."

"Still doesn't answer one question. Why are you here," He pulled a scroll from his back pocket, opening it. "It is scheduled for you Angels to arrive _next week. _Not one coming _alone_ by herself," He frowned closing the scroll snapping it making it disappear. His indigo eyes look at her. He did feel bad for her. He sits by her. The bells on him jingled at all of his movement. His outfit almost replicated a Jester outfit. The snow continued to drift slowly. It danced in the slight breeze. He frowned a little deeper his pointed ears going back like a dog's.

_What happened to you? What was your life like before you died..? I wouldn't know what to do if I died… I don't think Elves get an afterlife like Humans. I heard we just… poof from existence…_

Shortly there was a cry. A young man cry, "_Artemis!_"

Tsubaki jumps up looking at the sky, "Well I'll be bah humbugging! It's Maka, young teen genius that wanted all those books, not toys when he was a little wee baby!"

Artsi looked at Tsubaki in shock. "You know big brother?" she asked, eyes wide.

Maka swooped down and landed next to them, crossing his arms. "Why are you here? We're not supposed to be here until next week." he narrowed his eyes as he stared at his little sister. He turned to the Elf. "Sorry about that. Yes, I am Maka, nice to meet you. You must be the Head Elf."

"Yes. You can call me Tsubaki," The Elf turned to Artemis. "Big Brother?"

She nodded. "Yep! Maka was my big brother when I was...well alive. I guess he's still technically my brother." she looked thoughtful.

"I see," Tsubaki nods some. "Artemis. Go with your brother back wherever Angels come from. I am sorry that I don't know." Maka looks at Artsi.

"Sorry about what?" she tilted her head to the side before looking back at Maka.

_Artsi, he doesn't know where Angels come from. That is what he is sorry about. You can't blame him though, Elves don't… well… have souls so one they die, it is like they never existed._

_What do you mean Maka? That's...that's not fair...is it?_ She hugged her knees to her chest.

_The only way they are remembered is by they are listed in a book Santa has. Head Elves live at least twice as long as Standard Elves. Rare if they live three times longer than a Standard Elf._

"I don't wanna go back there…" she finally said out loud. "Please...don't make me go back…" she whimpered slightly. This is when Maka frowned.

"You have to. You don't have a choice."

"No… please don't make me go back! I'll do anything, just don't make me go back."

"I don't make the Rules Artsi. Lord Death does."

"I don't wanna go back!" She screamed, tears streaming down her face. "I don't want to see it anymore! Please, Maka!"

They heard the jingling of the Head Elf's uniform. They turn to him and he was on his knees, hands covering ears as he trembled right there on the spot. "M-Mister Tsubaki?" Artsi asked, looking at him. "You okay?"

Maka put a hand on her shoulder and she shook it off. She took off and flew away after a few seconds. The Elf's ears were ringing when he took his hands away. He was staring at the ground. He slowly looked up. Artsi was flying as fast as she could, away from her brother, and away from everything. She just wanted it to stop. "I don't want to go… please… please please…" She said.

She was suddenly no where. Everywhere was black. She knew what this meant. Lord Death was directly speaking to her, "Artemis Albarn..."

"Please no… I can't see it again… I can't do it… Don't make me come back so soon, I can't do it Lord Death, I'm sorry!"

Lord Death stays silent for a few seconds, "...Alright. You must be back by New Years though alright? That gives you a few weeks. And one more thing, what ever happens to the Head Elf, it is on your shoulders."

"Y-Yes sir… thank you sir." she sighed with relief. She flew around for a bit to calm hersElf down before she went back to Tsubaki. "Sorry…" She said quietly. "I...suppose you'll want to know what that was about then."

The Head Elf looks at her, "I would love to know."

She sat next to him. "Well...I'm not surprised you didn't know I'm Maka's sister. When I was five, on my way home from school I was picked up by a strange man in black. I don't know his name, but I do remember his face...God knows I know his face. Anyway, he took me to some weird warehouse-y, basement-like place and beat me day-by-day, week-by-week… I didn't know how long I was going to last. After about six months of that torture the police finally found the place… but it was too late. I'd died a few minutes after the police had kicked down the door and arrested that man. Where the Angels come from… we relive our deaths every day. Most died peacefully in their sleep or heroically like my brother… so for them, it's not so bad. But for me…" She shook some, "I… I have to relive those months every day I'm there… so I ran away and I came here early to avoid that, at least for a little while."

The Elf frowned, ears going down, "I'm… really sorry about that..."

"Don't apologize… there's nothing anyone can do about it really. Nothing can dull that pain or make me forget though. That's the worst part. Angels have to relive their deaths every day of their lives, that is the curse of being a servant to a god."

He looked at his hands then at her, "... If you were still alive…. what would you have want for Christmas?"

"I dunno…" she said after a few minutes of silence. "As I am now, I'd just want to be with my family again. I never really understood Christmas all that well. Growing up, my only family was big brother 'cause mom and dad died. Back then, I really can't say I'd know what I'd wish for. I wished for a lot of childish things then."

"We might be able to fix that." Question was… Who's _We_?

"You can't help a broken girl like me I'm afraid," she smiled bitterly, "And uh, who's the 'we' in the statement?"

"I bet I can to the end of a Candy Cane," He folds his arms. "We is Santa and I."

She blinked. "What's a 'Candy Cane'?" she asked, curious. "And Santa's the big man in the red suit right? He's funny."

His eyes widened when she asked what a Candy Cane was, "It's this." He pulled one from his pocket.

She just stared. "Do you eat it?" she asked, staring at the red and white striped candy. "Is it really candy?"

"There are fake ones but this is a real one. Try it," He hands it to her.

She stared at it some more. "You sure, Mister Tsubaki? I mean… it's your candy and all…" she didn't look used to being given things this way.

"I am completely sure, Artsi."

She smiled a little before putting the end of the treat in her mouth, eyes widening immediately and seeming to light up and she smiled up at him. "It's really good!" she said, pulling it out of her mouth so she could talk.

"Wait til you have Hot Chocolate with it."

She smiled a little awkwardly. "Um… what's that?" She asked sheepishly.

This was going to be a long day. Through the day, little by little, he was explaining everything to her. Every time he showed her something new, her eyes lit up with the same curiosity and excitement as she had when she'd eaten the Candy Cane. It was a pity she wasn't alive anymore, as she seemed so energetic and full of life as she once had been.

He smiled yet frowned at that. He pointed out the different dressings of Elves. Each uniform meant something else. He takes her to the kitchen. She smells the sweet aroma of everything being baked. "What's that smell Mister Tsubaki?" She asked, practically jumping up and down with excitement.

He chuckled, "Everything."

"What's 'everything' then?"

"Literally, everything."

"Does that include us then?" She asked with a mischievous grin. "You said 'literally everything' didn't you?"

"You know what I mean, silly."

"What kind of sweets are in here, Mister Tsubaki? Is it really everything?"

"Yes."

"Anything I haven't tried yet?" There it was again, that life-like energy of hers.

"A lot of things really."

"We're gonna be here for a while then." She giggled some.

"Here we go..."

They were in there for a _long_ time, to make it short. Tsubaki took her to several more places before it was almost time for him and Santa to go. Artsi flew with them on their rounds, a huge smile on her face. This was the most of the world she'd ever seen in her time of really just existing, and it was just as amazing as she'd thought it'd be yet even more so.

When they got back, the sun was starting to rise at the North Pole. Tsubaki smiled a bit, "Alright! Elves!"

Santa gets out chuckling, his belly jiggling at each laugh, "This Christmas was a very successful one!"

Tubaki tugged on Santa's sleeve, whispering in his ear. Santa perked up, nodding every-so-often. Tsubaki soon moved away grinning, "I will announce..."He turned to the Elves grinning even bigger. "We are going to hold a Gala, sleep for the night after that, then get back to work for next year!" The little peoples cheered. "Dress your absolute best tonight!"

To Artsi, the Gala was really amazing. She had no clue Elves played different instruments. Tsubaki walked over to her smiling some. She thought he had short hair at first but she learned his hat had kept all this lovely black hair hidden. It was in a low ponytail.

"What?"

"..So much… hair..."

"Yeah, lets not talk about it," He took her hand with a smile.


	2. The Star in His Eyes

p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"A few years pass. The same things nearly happening. Soon, the believers were declining again. She had never seen the Head Elf, that was usually cheery, go all angry yelling at them. She could hear him barking out a lot of things at the Elves. This had made her frown. She'd stayed longer than she'd promised to Lord Death, the main reason being because Tsubaki had found a Human girl that he'd fallen in love with practically at first sight. /span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She flew around helping the Elves sometimes, but otherwise they ignored her. All the Elves soon noticed he stopped barking at them. He had apologized and became more friendly than usual.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She found him one day outside. He was looking at the horizon. It was obvious, he was day dreaming about that Human. Angels can feel love coming from just about everything. His love was strong to this Human.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Thinking about her again?"span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He sighed some, his ears were down as his chin rested in his hand. He nodded slowly. He had a goofy smile on his face. He acted so childish when he thought of her. Her name was Black*Star. She had azure, short, spiky hair, her eyes green as a Christmas Tree. What really got him interested in her was that she had a huge Christmas Spirit. Even at that time of year, her pranks would still be filled with spirit.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" So, she set up a little plan of her own to make him happy. She told him about it. It was extremely risky, more for her than it was for him as Elves and Humans were never to fall in love and her punishment would be great, but it would be worth it (or, so she hoped). He did agree to that but he really wanted to be with this girl. A few things though. She was the opposite of him in several ways. She was loud he was more quiet than others thought. She was short, he was tall. Their ages weren't that far apart. span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The plan was for Artsi to help him sneak to the city where she lived disguised as best he could as a Human. It worked, except for his ears, but they could be passed off for some rare disease and people wouldn't care, so he wasn't concerned. Once he was there, he could do what he wanted and try to win that girl's heart. Artsi wanted it to work for him, because he was still alive, and she wanted him to be happy.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He looked at her. He had taken off into the night when the North Pole was quiet. It was a long night for the two of them. It would take another day to get where she was. Artsi stayed with him the whole time though the city. Even though Demons were more likely to appear and attack. They finally found the woman in a coffee shop. There was still snow and it was a week til Christmas. He had to do this briskly.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"His appearance went from greens and reds and whites with silver bells to a normal human look. He wore a red knitted cap with matching scarf and gloves with a dark green coat. He had khakis on because under all that was a belt and a Christmas sweater. It was red, green and white. It had snowflakes and reindeer on it. His boots were caked in snow by the time he got over there.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He walked in, knocking snow off the boots before stepping in. His hat hiding the points of his ears. She was behind the counter as a barista. "What can I get for you?" she asked, flashing him a bright smile.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He smiled some, "If you could get me a decaf with caramel vanilla creamer."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No problem." she said, writing it down. She leaned over the counter. "Say, you're pretty cute. Hit me up on my cell later, kay?" she handed him a small piece of paper and with a wink. She turned to make his coffee. He stood there, dumbfounded. A few problems, he didn't know what a cell phone was, two, he doesn't have money and three. He is not supposed to be doing this at all.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Fortunately for him, Artsi did, seeing this was only a few years after she died. She used her own powers to help him, sharing knowledge telepathically with him and all that. spanspan style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She wants to see you later, that's a good sign/spanspan style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"./span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Really?span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Yep! It means she kinda likes you already!span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Oh boy… I… wow...span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Artsi smiled. Tsubaki met up with the girl after she got off work. "What's your name anyway?" She asked. "Mine's Black*Star." He was so excited and nervous, he nearly forgot to respond.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Tsubaki."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That's a nice name. You look new here, you need somewhere to crash?" At this, he nodded some. "You can stay with me, c'mon." she grinned. She'd always been a very… forward person.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""...Alright."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Artsi smiled and decided to leave them alone for a minute when they got to the apartment, so she went to watching all the Humans passing in the street below. Tsubaki removed his coat, scarf and gloves but was reluctant of removing the hat. Black*Star didn't comment on it (she'd never been the brightest or most observant person ever either), but instead showed him to the guest room and went to get some food for them to eat.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He took time to look at the detail. He nodded a little every so often. Her taste in things weren't that bad. She soon comes back something small to eat..He perked up instantly smelling some Eggnog. "So, tell me a bit about yourself, since you're staying here for a little while." She said, sipping her Eggnog with a grin.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Well,..." spanspan style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Artsi… I need help with this./span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Just be yourself. She'll love you for who you are, not if you lie to her.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Well, for a while now I have been wanting to see this city in person."spanspan style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Like I don't see a Bird's Eye view of it once a year. /span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Save the snarky comments, Tsu. It won't end well if you say those out loud.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Can't you give me anymore help?span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Not really… sorry.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He huffed slightly, "Anyway. thank you for letting me stay with you for a little bit."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Not a problem. We should get to bed soon. I have work in the morning and if I oversleep the boss will get mad again."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Well, we don't want that happening now."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She laughed. "No, no we don't. Goodnight Tsubaki. How about tomorrow when I get off work, we do something fun, okay?"span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Alright, Black*Star. Good night."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She went into her room after cleaning up. He looked out the window to the city that was still alive. He wondered to himself if he should of done this or not. He heads to the bed. He gets comfortable before his eyes shut. Artsi smiled then frowned some. She felt like someone was watching her nearby, but she shook off the feeling. Helping Tsubaki was her main priority after all.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was soon the morning. He was always an early riser. He stretched sitting up, turning the light on. He had a funny feeling that Black*Star was still asleep, snoring away. "You might wanna go wake her up." Artsi said from her seat in the windowsill. "She's gonna be late if you don't." The little girl shivered a bit in the winter air. The Angels' uniform did nothing for warmth; that's for sure.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Of course," He walks out of the guest room and made his way to her room. He rapped on the door, "Black*Star, you need to get up."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"There was a great commotion that could only be her scrambling to get up and dressed before rushing out the door. "Thanks!" she called over her shoulder. All he could do was just watch her bolt off like that.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Artsi sneezed as she walked out of Tsubaki's room and into the living room. "Don't suppose… you have an extra sweater… do you?" she asked, rubbing her arms as she tried to warm herself up.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I do infact," He turned to her. "Left coat pocket on the inside."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She went over and slipped it on. She tucked her wings in since she couldn't use them with the sweater on. It was spanspan style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"way/spanspan style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" too big for her, so she had to roll the sleeves up a lot to keep her hands free. All in all, she looked adorable. "How'd you sleep by the way?" she asked./span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Neck hurts like a narwhal with a badly broken horn but other than that fine."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Artsi smiled. "Come on, let me see." she said. "I can heal it, or at least make it hurt less."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""If you can keep your hands from being stuck in the sweater," He chuckled.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She puffed out her cheeks. "It's not my fault you're bigger than me!" she said. "Just come here so I can fix your neck for you."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Fine fine, you little adorable Angel."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She blushed a little, embarrassed. "I'm not adorable…" She said, standing on a chair to reach his neck before closing her eyes. Her hands glowed for a minute before she finished, falling sideways off the chair.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Artsi..? Artsi!" He turned around, catching her at the last second.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I-I'm okay…" She said. "Just… a little weak. Doing things like that take me more energy than it would for a normal Angel. At least… I think that's why I feel dizzy. Can't say for sure."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hm… you can rest in the Guest Room while I go make something for Breakfast."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I said I'm okay Tsubaki. Really." she tried to get up.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""At least stay on the couch then."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She just sighed as he set her down on the couch. "Fine…" she said. About a good ten minutes later, she could smell breakfast being fixed. Boy, did it smell good.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She smiled some. "That smells awesome." she said. "You should cook for her when you get the chance."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That's a great idea!"span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She got up from the couch unsteadily, stumbling a few times. "Mind if I eat with you…?" she asked.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Sit back down, I'm bringing it to you."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She puffed out her cheeks again. "You don't have to baby me, Baki." she said.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm not."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yes you are, stop it."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Tell me, how am I babying you."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Bringing me breakfast? All the rest of that. You know what I mean, dummy."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He only laughed, "I'm being nice."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Can I just have my food? I'm hungry."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm coming. I'm coming."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Sorry, I don't mean to sound impatient." She said. "Take your time."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's finished anyway."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh…" She went to stand again so she could help him.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Stay seated. I got this."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Why can't I help?"span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You need to rest," Soon, after breakfast was over and he cleaned up the mess, he goes to put his coat on. He looks to her, "Do you want to come or are you going to stay?"span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'll stay. It's too cold right now."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Alright, I'll be back in a bit."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Okay. I'm gonna try to sleep."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'll try to be home by noon."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Okay…" She said drifting off to sleep. Time passes and he ends up back in the coffee shop sitting at a table, watching her. It was roughly noon. Her shift was going to end real soon. She ran over to him when she was done. "Hey, you ever been ice skating?" she asked, grinning. "Come on!"span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Alright,"He smiled some. "I have ice skated. I just haven't done it in a few years."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Come on! It'll be fun!" She dragged him along after her as she ran out of the coffee shop and to the ice rink.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They spent the rest of the afternoon skating around, laughing and talking. He had surprised her when he got behind her. He had picked her up. He was just full of surprises. When they got home, Tsubaki offered to make dinner. Artsi was still asleep on the couch, trying to get back some of her energy.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You don't mind do you, Black*Star? I know a good dinner that I could fix."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I didn't even know you could cook! Feel free, I haven't had a decent meal in ages."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""While we have dinner, I'll tell you all that I can do."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That sounds great," she said smiling.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He makes dinner. The two sat across each other in the kitchen, "Well, you see. I can cook, clean, make toys, even knit." He looks up to her eyes. span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That's impressive. You almost sound like you're one of Santa's little helpers." She said, giggling some.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I'm not the Little Helper. I'm the Head Elf. Head Helper. Oh… if only I could tell you that… spanspan style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah..." He sighed a little./span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She smiled before checking the time again. "Oh man, it's getting late again. I should get to bed. I'll find something fun for us to do tomorrow too, okay?" She said, skipping back to her room.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He watched her smiling some. He picks up the mess before nudging Artsi, "Hey… Artsi.. come on. Get up."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She stirred a little. "Huh…? Oh, hey Tsubaki. You have a nice day?" she asked. She didn't look much better than she had in the morning. She rubbed her eyes. "Did you make her dinner? I bet it was awesome, you're a great chef."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He frowned some just looking at her before picking her up, "Yeah. It was alright."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Only alright? How come?"span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It was only a decent meal. Nothing special."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Aw, but she seemed happy right?"span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""She pranced like a happy Rudolph to her room."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She frowned some, "How so?"span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He sits up straight, "It's a feeling Elves get."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hm… I still don't understand why you're asking all those questions. Do you think something is deeply wrong as in something is bad? Or is it something with me?"span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Something is really wrong with you. I can see it."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No there's not, Baki. I'm fine. You worry too much."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He turned to her. He looked really serious now, "Stop lying to me about it. You haven't looked any better since this morning when you healed my neck. You actually look a bit sicker now than then."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I feel fine. I think you're just tired." She got up from the bed and settled back into the windowsill. "You need to get some sleep. Come on."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He huffed a little, ears going down again. She pushed him gently down onto the bed and pulled her covers around him. "Worry about yourself for once, okay?" Artsi said quietly to him before turning to look out the window. He went to say something but she stopped him from saying anymore. His eyes start to close. "Good night, Baki."span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He wakes in the morning. Black*Star wasn't up yet but Black*Star had no work that day so she had planned to be with him all day. Black*Star took him to the shopping district this time so she could take care of buying a few presents for some friends.span/p  
>p style="text-align: center;"span id="docs-internal-guid-dc63cd95-e8a8-a9cd-d5b9-1e5a5db1b172"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: transparent;""Black*Star, I'm curious. What do you want for Christmas?" He rearranges the bags in an organized fashion.span/span/p 


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